


The Book Club

by Guuji



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Amaguji - Freeform, Amami Rantaro - Freeform, Amami Rantarou - Freeform, Cute, Fluff, Kirumi Tojo - Freeform, Kirumi Toujo - Freeform, Kirumi Toujou - Freeform, Korekiyo Shinguji - Freeform, Korekiyo Shinguuji - Freeform, M/M, No Incest, Non Despair, Oma Kokichi - Freeform, Ouma Kokichi - Freeform, Rantaro Amami - Freeform, Rantarou Amami - Freeform, Romance, Saihara Shuichi - Freeform, Shinguji Korekiyo - Freeform, Shinguuji Korekiyo - Freeform, Teen Romance, Yonaga Angie - Freeform, amaguuji, uwu
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-06-25 14:45:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15642912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guuji/pseuds/Guuji
Summary: What happens when Rantarou stumbles upon a book club that only has one member?





	1. The Book Club

**Author's Note:**

> Generic high school au, non-despair, pretty headcanon based and fluffy !! and god this is shorter than i thought h ? thanks ao3

_It was pouring out._  
_He managed to get caught in the rain without an umbrella._  
_He thought about how oh so lucky he was._

_He just wanted to go back home._

_***_

A sigh left Rantarou’s lips as soon as his homeroom teacher brought up the topic of him not having an extracurricular to attend anymore. It was bothersome, really, him being forced to join something right after his humble yearbook committee voted him out of the team. He asked for more time to decide, or, hell, even get over the fact that his so-called ‘friends’ practically showed no remorse as they kicked him out of the team, but he kept getting pressured.

He was Rantarou Amami, an exemplary student, top of his class and not to mention very physically fit as well. What kind of an example would he be if he…didn’t join an extracurricular? It all felt…really dramatic.

But he supposed he could check out the book club after class.

It wasn’t a big trip from the lockers to the classroom where the action of the very suspenseful sounding book club took place. He wished he didn’t have to bother with this, but he was literally at the verge of thinking that his homeroom teacher will suspend him if he doesn’t do something about his sad, sad situation. So that’s why, he ended up pushing the classroom doors open, expecting to see a bunch of students chattering about something…book related.

Instead he saw an equally sad sight.

Some guy rocking the most luscious long hair was sitting alone and reading, Beethoven’s Silence playing through an old-looking radio. He wore a mask over his lips, almost like he was sick.

“Is this the book club?” Rantarou asked, finally catching the mystery boy’s attention.

“Yes,” the other glanced up from the material he was reading a second earlier, “but we don’t give juniors test answers anymore, sorry about that.”

“Sophomore,” Rantarou coughed, “I’m a sophomore.” It almost felt like his pride was hurt over being called a junior.

“It doesn’t matter. It was never my idea to start giving underclassmen material for cheating and Kokichi isn’t here anymore, so-” he stood up from his seat and walked closer to Rantarou, as if to emphasize a point- “so you’re free to go.”

“No,” Rantarou rebutted and dropped his bag onto the floor, “because _I_ am here to join.”

That seemed to catch the other off guard, so much so that Rantarou just walked past him with no words spoken and sat down on the seat that was previously taken. Rantarou picked up the book and flipped through the pages, silently hoping the other remembered where he left off before the interruption.

“So, when do I get to meet the other members?” Rantarou asked while his eyes scanned one of the paragraphs printed on the pages of the book. He managed to catch something about what seemed like a tragic demise of two lovers.

“Fortunately for you, you’ve already met them all.” A certain calmness was sprinkled in the other’s voice, despite how depressing the whole ordeal actually sounded.

Rantarou coughed awkwardly. “Won’t technically meet any of them if I don’t hear their names.” He nearly asked if the male was alone in this pitiful excuse for a club, but he didn’t want the mood to be even worse between them. He decided he’ll keep his mouth shut for now.

“Shinguuji Korekiyo.” He turned and made his way to sit next to Rantarou. “I’m a senior, so try not to slow me down.”

“Haha, you’re going to find that you’ll be the one trying to keep up with me, yanno?” Rantarou teased. He highly doubted either of them would need any keeping up. “I’m Amami Rantarou! It’s truly a pleasure to meet you and I hope we can continue this teamwork until your graduation day.”

“You’ll have to promise you’ll uphold my legacy in here after my graduation day, though. Or none of this hard work will be worth-while.” It kind of sounded more dramatic than any of the things this… Korekiyo had said before, more…sarcastic in a way as well, but Rantarou couldn’t tell, seeing as how his expression looked the same since the second they met eyes.

“So, whatcha reading there?”

“Of course you wouldn’t know since your reading isn’t as advanced as mine.” Korekiyo stated, grabbing the book from Rantarou’s hands, his eyes emitting frustration at the fact that he now had to search for the page he finished off before such a rude interruption. “ _Wuthering Heights_. Did you manage to at least see what page I was on before deciding you could ruin everything?”

“Who cares? Just read it all to me from the beginning! Wouldn’t it be great to show the newbie such advanced literature?” A sly grin decorated Rantarou’s face, he looked like he was having fun.

Korekiyo let out an exasperated sigh and flipped all the way to the beginning. “As you wish, you scoundrel.”

Rantarou’s grin got even wider. He certainly had a different image in mind at the idea of a book club. But here he was now, an upperclassman sitting next to him and reading some book he’s never heard of before. And so willingly too!

“ _“Chapter one. 1801. - I have just returned from a visit to my landlord – ”_ ”

Rantarou leaned back in the chair he was occupying, his grin turning into a more content smile. He had some time to spare after all, he could stay here for a while. For at least five chapters, he thought. And in the midst of Korekiyo’s reading, Rantarou decided to look over his surroundings. Of course, while still listening to the other’s surprisingly smooth voice. It was a regular old classroom, with a regular old backroom, yet it managed to look apart. A tea set, and an old-fashioned radio, and a copious number of books. And who could forget the tall and admittedly strange looking senior.

It might have seemed like any other classroom at first glance, sure, but it managed to hold its own special quirky aura. It almost felt like home and Rantarou was happy he could finally feel like he was home, even if it was his first time here.

“ _“…and by a range of gaunt thorns all stretching their limbs one way,”_ ”

And _even if_ it was his first time here, _even if_ things ended up changing in the end, _even if_ Rantarou felt like it was presumptuous of him to think that their new-found dynamic could become even better he was happy sitting here.

He was happy that the air had shifted from the uncomfortable one the second he had entered, to a friendlier one. It might’ve just been his imagination, obviously, people didn’t warm up this quickly, but he was going to try giving this a chance.

He was going to try giving the book club a chance.

_***_

_This was quite embarrassing._  
_He stared at his reflection in the puddle and it somehow_  
_managed to look worse than him._

_He shouldn’t have run away._


	2. The Cafeteria

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more notes will be at the end, but for now i just wanna say that !!! this will update at least once per month, twice or three times if we're luckyy. i don't actually intend for this to be a long story, but since i don't outline i don't actually know hahaa--
> 
> but yeah, hope you like this chapter!!

_Do you ever_  
_regret the things that you say?_  
 _But you only think of apologizing when it’s too late?_

***

“Hey, Shinguuji, are you actually alone in this club?” Rantarou looked Korekiyo’s way after putting down his cup of tea on the desk alongside the book he was reading. Though he was quite disappointed to find that the other didn’t even bother darting his eyes at him. Rantarou wondered if Korekiyo heard what he said or if he was so infatuated by the book in his hands that he couldn’t turn away. And after such a serious question too…

Rantarou sighed and stood up, immediately walking over to the desk Korekiyo was occupying. Though he still didn’t seem to notice the green-haired male, even when he was next to him! He didn’t want to do this, especially with how easily bothered Korekiyo seemed to be, but because no one here was paying attention to him, Rantarou started shaking Korekiyo’s chair.

“Heey, come on, wake up! Your club needs you!” He yelled, still shaking the chair and finally getting Korekiyo’s attention. Though, at what price was that?

“P-Please stop shaking my chair!” Korekiyo exclaimed, a shaken and clearly upset expression decorating his usually calm features. His hair was flailing around as well, he swore that if this is how it got tangled he was going to kill Rantarou. His distress didn’t last for much longer though, Rantarou thankfully left the poor chair alone.

“What was it that made you so rudely disturb my quiet time?” Korekiyo asked, his yellow pupils finally straying away from the letters that had captured him, now landing to Rantarou instead.

“Well, I…” Rantarou paused. He didn’t want to ask this the day before because he didn’t want to strike a nerve and maybe disturbing Korekiyo to ask it was a bad idea, but he couldn’t just say nothing now, especially with how agitated Korekiyo’s eyes looked. “I wanted to ask, are you all alone here? I mean, have you been all alone here, since you started the club?”

 Korekiyo looked away to the corner of the classroom, seemingly deep in thought after such a question. Rantarou almost regretted asking, but before he could apologize, Korekiyo turned back. “Well, of course I’m not alone in here. I have the tea set, and my radio, and all these books with me, and…” he looked away again, “and you’re here now.”

Despite the quite melancholic situation at hand, a light blush started dusting Rantarou’s cheeks. He was here now… Somehow hearing this from a senior made him feel proud and maybe a little happier than he should’ve been. Still, keeping his mouth shut proved to be a futile task, no matter how much he wanted to preserve a happy vibe in this classroom.

“No, I meant, like, other people. Aside from me. And you. And…and book characters.”

Korekiyo looked like he flinched and Rantarou was suddenly spewing apologies for some reason unknown to even himself. He wanted to know, but…if it meant making Korekiyo uncomfortable he would’ve rather strayed away from the topic.

“It’s fine,” Korekiyo exhaled, “there were more members, of course. Saihara Shuichi left because the detective books inspired him to be an actual sleuth. Kirumi Toujo had enough responsibilities as it was, she was in so many clubs, so I advised her to leave. Some others like Naegi Makoto and Togami Byakuya have already graduated. Ouma Kokichi left around a week ago, saying he had more important matters to attend to now. There was also Yonaga Angie, but she wasn’t a part of the club, she just helped out with the stands and the flyers. And…” he paused, his hand lightly grazing the cover of the book he still held firmly. He cleared his throat. “T-That’s about…all.”

Though the longing gaze seemed to tell another story.

“I-I’m sorry I brought it up. That was stupid of me. Besides, we’ve known each other for, like, two days, you’re totally not…obliged to tell me anything.” Rantarou rubbed his arm awkwardly and made his way back to his seat.

“It’s alright. I’d be just as curious if I were you too.” Korekiyo said, finally looking back to his book. “Besides, now that there’s no one here, it’s finally quiet.” His tone finally got louder and more confident, through Rantarou could still sense a little bit of disappointment.

This guy sure was mysterious.

And that’s literally all Rantarou could think about on his way to the cafeteria. He definitely would have rather focused on Korekiyo’s daily ramble, but his thoughts were already so occupied by Korekiyo’s insane denial. He knew the other was clearly bothered with the fact that everyone around him seemed to go up and leave, it was clear by the longing gazing at the floor and by the way he put his words together more carefully than usual. Sure, not every person likes to talk about their problems so suddenly and Rantarou knew he would’ve been a hypocrite if he ever tried to force it out of someone, but he was so intrigued.

Especially since Korekiyo was holding up the book club all alone! He could’ve quit so easily. But maybe that’s why…maybe because it was too easy.

“Yahoo! Kiyo!” Rantarou’s thoughts all came to a sudden halt when he heard a high-pitched voice call out to someone awfully close-by.

“I told you to stop calling me that.” Rantarou turned his head to Korekiyo who had spoken this time. Huh, so it was calling out to him then.

He snorted. “Kiyo, huh?”

“Shut up and never call me that again. Unless you want me to tear out your nerves.” Korekiyo glared at Rantarou and turned to the girl with the same glare. “What is it that you want, Yonaga?”

The short girl that now stood before them looked unusually happy in this depressed high school setting. Not only that, but she stood out with her physical appearence. Fair hair and tan skin, Rantarou had to admit she was quite pretty. But then again, he also thought he could use her as an arm-rest in the future. If they hit it off, that is.

“Angie hasn’t seen you in the cafeteria for so long! So, I was wondering if you were going to sit with us?” She asked, the bright smile never leaving her face, not even for a second. “And why is Amami Rantarou with you, huh, huh? So strange, not even Atua could’ve predicted something like that!”

“Huh, do you know each other?” Korekiyo asked, first looking over to Angie, then at Rantarou, then back to Angie.

“Nyaha, definitely not! He’s just resident popular kid, right, right? Everyone knows Rantarou!” She exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “Atua wonders, is he sitting with us too?”

“If he is _‘resident popular kid’_ , then surely asking something like that is pointless,” Korekiyo shook his head. “He probably has hoards of other people he can eat with.”

“N-No, actually,” Rantarou finally butted in, scratching the back of his neck in an awkward manner. The yearbook committee table probably would’ve not wanted him there, considering just how crudely they voted him out, “I don’t… I can sit with you.”

“Atua is pleased! Not only is Korekiyo finally joining the feast, but so is Rantarou! How divine!” Angie giggled, meanwhile Korekiyo looked a little bit flabbergasted.

Surely, resident popular kid had other, more important manners to attend to.

“Now c’mon, guys! Shuichi and Angie already saved a spot!” She seemed to be floating after such an unordinary development and as soon as Korekiyo and Rantarou had everything they needed she led them to the table.

***

 _It was unusual for him_  
_to regret things like these_  
 _there was only one instance like that,_  
 _but this was miniscule compared to it, so why?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hc that the book rantarou's reading ( in this chapter at least ) is lord of the flies because, first of all, i started writing this whilst i was reading that book haha, and second of all, it's about kids in an island and i feel like that's fitting for rantarou
> 
> i think i wanted to say something else here, but unfortunately i forgot, so i hope you enjoyed the chapter, and if you did, leeeave a comment uwhu


	3. The Cafeteria pt.2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOF I'M NOT DEAD .... I SAID THIS WOULD UPDATE ONCE A MONTH BUT I OVERESTIMATED MYSELF IT'S BEEN AGES I'M SO SORRY ... I HOPE YA'LL STILL THERE --
> 
> yeah sorry i've been busy , but i think i'm doing better now . i was thinking of making a christmas special next up , but as you can probably tell i'm bad at doing what i say i will . www i'll try . 
> 
> but here i am again ! this story is turning out so different to what i previously had in mind & honestly i'm surprised haha -- hope you like this !!

_He was so angry._  
_So angry._  
 _But something he always failed to realize_  
 _dawned upon him._

***

“A-Ah! Shinguuji, I haven’t seen you in a while!”

Korekiyo seemed to only nod at the softly sounding greeting and though that’s not a reply Rantarou would’ve given out, he thought that it was perfectly in character for Korekiyo. Though before he could say hello himself, he could’ve sworn he saw the stranger look at him like he was a ghost, making him shut up.

“I…Is that-”

“Yes, yes, Shu-chi! Rantarou Amami is joining us for lunch! It is truly a wonder!” Angie spun around, her hands still clapped together and she kept twirling around until she finally plopped down next to the frightened boy. She then pulled out a lunch box which contained what looked to be a salad. “This is Shuichi Saihara by the way!”

“Nice to meet you, you already know who I am courtesy of your friend.” Rantarou smiled, though that didn’t remove the grimace from Shuichi. “Are you…okay? You look kind of sick…”

“I-I-I’m fine!” Shuichi squeaked out, proceeding to chow down on the food he bought, signaling he didn’t want to speak anymore. Needless to say, Rantarou’s forehead broke out into a cold sweat.

“It really has been a while, I apologize for not coming out more often. I’ve been…” Korekiyo’s pupils darted to the side away, a melancholy glint appearing in his eyes and Rantarou could’ve sworn it was the same as when he brought up the empty book club earlier. “I’ve been very focused on my readings.”

“We’ve been worried.” Shuichi blurted, before tipping his black hat downwards and shoving down more food in the off-chance someone attempted to make him converse again, face tinted bright red all of a sudden. It was most likely caused by noticing the surprise on Korekiyo’s face, he probably regretted saying that.

“Shu-chi’s been worried, Angie’s content with knowing Atua is always watching over you! He would never allow Kiyo feel ill!” Angie exclaimed, ignoring Korekiyo’s previous warning about calling him that, hand flailing and pieces of the salad falling off of the plastic fork she held. “Atua says…you should find Kirumi if you’re finally out! She’s been asking about you!”

“She…has?” Korekiyo tilted his head, picking at the mashed potatoes on the tray. “I’ll see if I have time later then…”

“Shinguuji,” Shuichi started speaking, warranting the surprise of Rantarou who was sure the other wouldn’t utter a single word anymore. “Sorry about-”

“It’s okay, you should enjoy being that aspiring detective instead of lingering in the book club, you’re good at it.” Korekiyo looked like he smiled, though no one was really sure. “The doors are still open if you’d like to read a detective novel some time.”

Shuichi inhaled, gaze dropped down to his lap. It looked like he was about to say something with how his eyebrows furrowed and how swiftly he looked back up, but he restrained himself last minute, nodding with a small smile. “R…Right…”

And Rantarou couldn’t understand, for the life of him, what was up with this table. He was about to off-handedly ask why there was a lingering tension around, not in a serious manner, just in case something was really up, but it seemed to be a running thing that as soon as he got here, he would get interrupted before he could even open his mouth.

“Ahaha, hi, Amami! What’s up?”

Ah, he could recognize that voice anywhere. In fact, everyone at the table seemed to be in discomfort after hearing it.

It didn’t take long for a head of purple to slide next to Rantarou, bumping into his side and causing the other to bump shoulders with Korekiyo. A well-know and extremely irritating ‘nishishi’ left the lips of the newest addition to this table, causing everyone, including the happy-go-lucky Angie, to flinch, even just slightly.

“What are you doing here, Ouma?” Rantarou’s eyebrow twitched as he put his hand decorated with various rings on the top of Kokichi’s head, ready to push him off the bench in case the situation required it. “You better not be planning any-”

“Actually, I was just here to ask you why you haven’t been showing up to any of the yearbook committee meetings.”

Korekiyo’s head curiously turned to his side now, he wasn’t aware that Rantarou was a part of the yearbook committee. Resident popular kid with duties to attend, he couldn’t help but wonder what led him to the book club in the first place. And in the meantime, Rantarou’s grip on Kokichi’s head, or rather his hair now, tightened, but it only seemed to make the other even more amused.

“I got thrown out.” Rantarou gritted through his teeth, not letting go just yet. He side-eyed Kokichi. “How would you know I’ve been absent anyways?”

Kokichi grinned, head turning as much as Rantarou’s tight grip allowed, the mischievous expression on his face unsettling Shuichi, Angie and Korekiyo to a degree. Rantarou just continued to glare, he didn’t want to hear about the yearbook committee, especially after feeling so tranquil for the last couple of days with the mirthful peace Korekiyo offered.

“Didn’t you know? I’m currently the president, nishishi. Running the yearbook committee is so much fun!” And though Kokichi’s voice held childish innocence, his face seemed to be purposefully provoking Rantarou, up to a point where Rantarou seemed like he was ready to pick the shorter male up and throw him away with all his might. It was due to the fact hat he knew, everyone knew – Kokichi always had some ulterior motive to everything he would do or say.

“Nishishi, be careful Amami, everyone’s watching.” And such was the downfall of Rantarou, seeing as Kokichi was much more aware of his feelings, leading him to be aware of his surroundings even in a predicament as this.

Rantarou’s hand hesitantly left the top of Kokichi’s head and he looked around for the first time in a few minutes. A big chunk of the people in the cafeteria seemed to be watching whatever’s been going on and he wasn’t sure why – Kokichi was always fooling around, so why would everyone would be attracted to this scene in particular? It all seemed so…scripted to him, like this was a bad high school movie.

But the staring didn’t stop, in fact, not only did it not stop, but an uncomfortable sound of whispering all around him started. And he could definitely recognize those side-eye glares. Since when was…the cafeteria like this?

“Whatever.” Rantarou muttered, standing up and pushing past Kokichi. Kokichi just waved before standing up and skipping off himself, a pleased expression on his face.

Shuichi, Angie and Korekiyo just stared as Rantarou pushed past the doors into the confines of the mostly empty hallways. With him gone, everyone seemed to resume to their previous conversations. Everyone except for the confused trio who just sat dumbfounded at what had happened. Korekiyo was the first to stand, politely excusing himself from the table, saying how he just wanted to check in with how Rantarou was doing before briskly walking away. And then…

“H-Huh, Yonaga?” Shuichi’s head darted towards Angie right after she pushed herself off the bench.

“Atua is telling Angie to go! He’s saying that this is definitely not going to end well!” She said it so light-heartedly, it was hard for him to take her seriously, but he couldn’t just let her run off alone, so he stood up as well, bag in had as he tried to keep up with her pace.

 

Korekiyo exhaled after leaving the cafeteria, the air there was definitely getting stuffy. But seeing Rantarou now at the end of the hall made his more relaxed posture stiffen. He wanted to…he wanted to know what was going on.

“Amami, wait-” he hoped his words were loud enough to hear and they certainly were, Rantarou was just too stubborn to turn back, making Korekiyo sprint in his direction. He needed- he wanted to catch up!

_But not everything you want happens._

Not even a mere second passed before Korekiyo was already panting, he really wasn’t in shape. But he persisted, legs moving against the rational thinking in his brain telling him to stop. Persistence is key, as they say, but not this time. His vision blurred, black dots rapidly appearing one by one and not disappearing like he expected. He wobbled slightly, knees finally giving out as he collapsed, the last thing he saw being Rantarou finally turning to him –

 

_“Huh, Shinguuji?!”_

_“Kiyo!”_

***

_He hadn’t been observant enough._  
All he did was mope around, but  
that ended up affecting people around him  
as much as it affected him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> right !! don't forget to leave a comment bc those really get me motivated !!!


	4. Christmas special

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was busy with family yesterday so accept this on the second day of chrislis uwwwwu ,,,

Rantarou yawned, the sun landing in his eyes as soon as he opened them up. He had wondered for a moment how early it was, seeing as how he did have an alarm set for 9am so he could open up all the presents with his sisters. As he reached for his phone on the nightstand where he last left it, he found that the spot that had been occupied by the mobile device was now completely empty. He groaned in annoyance, getting up and throwing on a robe that had been resting on the back of his chair, before leaving his room. He was still groggy once he reached the stairs and climbed down, attempting to call out to his youngest sisters who could’ve taken his phone.

“Nekane? Moca? Did you guys take my-” He had stopped dead in his tracks before he could even finish the question though, standing on the last step, gazing at the huge snow-white couch that sat in the living room, that was occupied by more people than usual.

“Oh, oh! Good morning, Tarou!” The cheerful and somewhat foreign and familiar voiced called out to him and he didn’t even need to look to know who it was. “Atua wishes you a good morning as well, nyahaha!”

“You don’t look like you slept well, Amami! Actually, you look like you’ve just seen a ghost, nishishi!” And now, something much more obnoxious rang through the room and to say that Rantarou wasn’t pleased would be an understatement.

“W-What are you guys doing here?!” He choked out, a flustered expression on his face. He was only with his robe and people from school were here. Not only were Angie and Kokichi here, but Shuichi was also sitting on the couch next to them, looking mildly inconvenienced. “Who let you in?!”

“Hehe, they said someone near and dear to you was going to spend Christmas alone this year and that we should throw a party and invite him!” One of his youngest sisters – Moca – grinned, clapping her hands.

The other youngest – Nekane – stuck her arm out, Rantarou’s phone proudly displayed in her hand. “We texted him, he’s meeting you next to the school at 6pm.”

“A-And you didn’t even bother to ask me?!” Rantarou wouldn’t have cared, really, but they didn’t even warn him and he was still wearing a robe in front of everyone! All he wanted to do was run away at this point.

“We made everyone breakfast!” Rantarou’s head snapped towards the maid who had just walked out of the kitchen, Kirumi walking behind her with a small smile on her face as she carried the remaining plates full of food.

“T-T-Toujo?!” His face flushed even more as he witnessed his upperclassman helping his maid serve breakfast, in front of him, no less – he wasn’t even properly dressed! “P-Please wait for me!” And with that, he ran back upstairs to get dressed.

 

 

He had noticed everyone apart from his sisters (granted, they didn’t know what was happening) being dressed for the occasion. Angie was adorning a green elf dress with red features and a belt around the waist, she even put on pointy shoes. Kokichi looked to be matching, though Rantarou thought it didn’t fit him – gremlins and elves weren’t on the same level. Kirumi and Shuichi on the other hand were rocking silly Christmas jumpers, Kirumi’s jumper featuring a mother penguin with her young all wearing Christmas hats, and Shuichi’s, a bigfoot in the snow. Rantarou put on a Christmas jumper as well, one that his sisters bought for him last year. It had a bunch of kittens in space wearing hats and scarves, on top of pizza slices. He adored it.

By the time he came down, everyone was finished with their meals. He didn’t mind the fact that he couldn’t get to eat, he wasn’t hungry anyways, especially with this new development.

“So then, what’s the plan?” Rantarou sighed, a disingenuous lopsided grin on his face as he sat down on the couch next to the oldest of his sisters – Kanan. “How do we throw this super cool Christmas party?”

“Alright, so, Toujo, your maid and I will be the ones cooking, meanwhile Yonaga and Ouma will decorate.” Shuichi explained. “Your sisters can pick what they do. Meanwhile, since Shinguuji doesn’t really care about any of us as much as he does you, you need to get him a gift and talk him into coming here.”

Rantarou’s face flushed for the thousandth time this morning as he stared at the epoxy coated floor. Shuichi wasn’t wrong per se, but he could’ve worded it much better. He was intending on getting Korekiyo a gift during the holidays and give it to him back in school anyways, but the sooner the better, he supposed.

 

 

Korekiyo slumped into the wooden chair, chin gently resting on the edge of the table, hair sprawled all across it and a framed picture in both hands that were placed in front of his face. The picture was of him and Rantarou posing in front of the book club. Well, Rantarou was mostly posing in a ridiculous manner, Korekiyo was the one trying to hide from the camera. Nevertheless, it was the first picture he had taken with someone in a long time, it was dear to him and he hoped Rantarou would feel the same, since that was his gift.

Well, that, and a few gingerbread cookies.

And despite the fact that he had a gift, he still groaned, he _still_ clutched the frame tight in disbelief that this was all he could muster for one of the most important people in his life. But he couldn’t do any better now, he wasn’t awfully wealthy, nor did he have much time to come up with something else. In fact, it would’ve probably been for the best if he started leaving.

Once he put his coat and scarf on, he gave a last glance of luck to his own copy of that picture he had hung on his wall near a small mirror. And with a sigh, he left.

It didn’t take long for him to travel near the school, he was lucky his humble abode was so close to it, really. He wouldn’t have it any other way. And he thought he was showing up early, but much to his surprise Rantarou was already there, sitting on the bench near the entrance. Korekiyo hesitated for a moment, but internally cursed himself for being so dumb, before his feet finally carried him closer.

“Amami,” he started, the smoothness in his voice not wavering despite the fact that he was a bit nervous. “You’re early.”

“Ah, well, I didn’t see a point in sitting around pointlessly. I was just getting in the way of the commotion back home, really.” Rantarou chuckled, standing up from his spot on the bench.

Korekiyo huffed, a small mocking smile lingering on his face behind the mask. “Were you perhaps eager to see me?”

“You wish.” Rantarou retorted, a soft smile resting on his face. “Now, let’s go.”

“Huh, where?”

“My place, duh, there’s a bunch of food I’m dying to share with you.” Rantarou paused and his grin widened, before he turned and started leading the way. “And, come to think of it…yeah, I was eager to see you.”

Korekiyo’s face turned beet red and he began to walk faster so his steps could get in line with the other’s. He tried to subtly bury his burning face in his scarf, but if that wouldn’t work, he was ready to blame it on the cold. But Rantarou wasn’t easily fooled, he could totally tell Korekiyo was flustered, though he didn’t notice his own fond smile creeping up on his face.

“Actually, Amami, I wanted to give you something.” Korekiyo muttered, the other turning to face him with a soft and eager smile that edged Korekiyo to continue. “It’s not much, but…” That being said, Korekiyo shoved the items he had been holding in a secretive manner into Rantarou’s hands. It took Rantarou a moment for his brain to comprehend just how cute it was that he had received a picture of them and what he assumed were homemade cookies. He had lots of disposable things, lots of easily replaceable ones too, but this was…awfully adorable.

“I can’t believe your gift is so much sweeter than mine. And I had hoped to win this battle.” Rantarou chuckled. “They’re back home since I didn’t want to accidentally lose them or something, but I bought you a pair of tickets to that Count of Monte Cristo musical you said you wanted to go to.”

“But those are…”

“I had some money I could throw around.” And even though his reply was pretty relaxed, he noticed how distressed Korekiyo seemed to look. “A…Ah, are you okay? Do you not want to go? I could get you something else you know.”

Korekiyo looked away, still looking quite red. He didn’t want anyone to buy something so expensive for him, really truly. “Please don’t spend so much money on me next time, it’s quite idiotic.”

Rantarou grimaced, but quickly shook his head and replaced it with a smile, hand reaching to grab Korekiyo’s. “Let’s just hurry, okay?”

Despite this slight discomfort, Korekiyo smiled and let himself be led by the other. He really thought for a moment, that maybe Rantarou didn’t live too far from here, but they ended up taking a bus…somewhere. And aside for a little small talk, the two didn’t really converse that much. Yet, the silence wasn’t awkward, it was rather comforting. It felt like they were back in the book club, reading and drinking tea, basking in each other’s silent company. Rantarou threw small glances at Korekiyo, who had taken the window seat so he could stare outside. He refrained from asking about Korekiyo spending Christmas alone, or for how long that was, if Korekiyo wanted him to know, he would’ve said something. The bus ride seemed to be short altogether, especially taking the silence into consideration. Korekiyo was a bit surprised of where they climbed out, it looked like a rich cul-de-sac, completely different to what he was used to. And even if Korekiyo didn’t show his surprise deliberately, Rantarou could tell he was quite thrown off.

“I don’t like telling people about this, they get all friendly just because I’m…rich or something.” But he knew Korekiyo wasn’t the type.

Needless to say, Korekiyo felt out of place, but he figured that, not only was he already here, if Rantarou started insisting now, he wouldn’t be able to say no. That’s why, after a shake of his head and a statement of that they should just go, he let Rantarou take the lead again. It all felt like a maze in here, he took a mental note of asking Rantarou to walk him out after their little holiday get-together was over, because there was no way he was going to be able to maneuver past all these…mansions. And once Rantarou finally stopped and gestured to one of them, Korekiyo was more than surprised, more surprised than he’s been all day. This building seemed to be bigger than any of the ones they’ve passed while walking here, a fact that made him want to sink into the ground. He really, _really_ didn’t belong here. Suddenly though, the door swung open with notable force, Angie being the one to run out and hop over to give Korekiyo a hug.

“Wuaa! Hey, hey, Kiyo, have you gotten taller, Atua wonders?” She chuckled, trying helplessly to hang by his neck on her tip-toes like a koala bear hanging off a branch.

“Ah…no, unfortunately.” He muttered, a bead of cold sweat protruding from his forehead. He patted her back awkwardly, before she finally pulled away, still grinning. “What are you…doing here?”

“Huh, Angie? What about you, what are you doing here?” She leaned, hands behind her back and a small grin on her face. “Did you intend to coddle each other near the fireplace? Oh, oh right, did you know Tarou has a huge fireplace?”

“We-”

“Yonaga, you’re ruining the surprise!” Rantarou yelled, a nervous jitter to his voice as he grabbed Korekiyo by the hand yet again and dragged him through the door, revealing the holiday commotion that was happening inside. Kokichi was holding tightly onto the giant Christmas banner he and Angie were working on seconds prior before she ran out and managed to knock the ladder under Kokichi’s feet down, causing him to grab onto it and dangle like a helpless kitten, who was left to yell for her to come back. In the meantime, Kirumi and Shuichi were carrying plates to the dining room, smiling and chatting among each other, and upon noticing Korekiyo, they both smiled at him, before going back to the rush.

“Huh, what’s going on here?” Korekiyo tilted his head, quite visibly confused on what was going on.

“They just barged in this morning, saying they wanted to invite you over and get you to spend Christmas with us. Just…all together.” Rantarou explained, a light blush dusting his face. “We just didn’t want you to spend the day alone.”

Korekiyo blinked, hands rising to cover his face. He couldn’t understand for the life of him, what prompted them to do this for him of all people, but he wasn’t going to ask, especially after hearing Rantarou laughing lightly.

“Look, they’re back!” Kanan yelled from upstairs, noticing them right after helping Kokichi up.

All of Rantarou’s sisters were too busy to notice the two, pre-occupied with either hanging up stockings, carrying gifts under the giant tree, or laughing at Kokichi’s misfortune of being left alone just a minute ago. But after Kanan pointed it out, all of them turned to the spot back at the door, devilish grins adorning all of their faces.

“Look up, look up!” Moca exclaimed, jumping up and down, and clapping her hands.

Rantarou and even Korekiyo, who had just uncovered his burning face out of interest, looked up. Rantarou let out a startled noise, promptly crossing his arms and looking away with closed eyes, ignoring his own red cheeks in denial. And Korekiyo just stared in silence, stared at the mistletoe hanging above their heads. He was grinning, though it seemed more like an annoyed grin.

“Kuku…kukuku, are you mocking us with some old tradition...? It’s as if we must conform to your ridiculous ideas…” Korekiyo muttered, causing multiple of Rantarou’s sisters to pout.

“Rantarou, don’t grinch out now! It’s not that hard to kiss!” Nekane grinned, her phone in hand. She was totally ready to document this in case things went well.

“I won’t…I won’t kiss anyone under the mistletoe! Are you all-” however, Rantarou’s angry spewing got interrupted by a hand tugging him by his collar. All he could hear were surprised gasps before finally, Korekiyo’s slightly chapped lips landed onto his smooth ones. Rantarou’s hands snaked onto Korekiyo’s arm that was still holding his collar. And to everyone’s, even Rantarou’s, surprise, he kissed back. How could he…how could he not? He could feel Korekiyo’s sly grin through the kiss, a grin that was uncovered for the first time, a grin that was only there because Korekiyo was pleased to finally get back at Rantarou for flustering him so much in his own way. And once Korekiyo ultimately pulled away, no one was able to get a good look on his face, not ever Rantarou (who was admittedly too flustered to even think of that), because the mask was back on as swiftly as it had been tugged down.

“I refuse to be the subject of your mocking for not taking part in this childish tradition. I hope you understand that, Amami.” And despite his stern and serious tone, everyone could see the mischievous glint in his eyes and the still-sitting grin behind the mask. “I hope you captured that, Yonaga.”

“Angie! Atua says it’s Angie to you, you fool! Quit calling Angie like that!” She fumed in a light-hearted manner. “Or else you won’t get your picture!”

Meanwhile, at least half of Rantarou’s sisters were shaking him and laughing at him for looking like an embarrassed school girl. Nekane attempted to show him the video she had gotten of the kiss, but he just stared blankly at the wall, face seeming like it was letting out steam. The mocking deliveries were soon interrupted by the maid calling everyone to the table, but would be continued later. And Korekiyo couldn’t help but look at it all with a fond smile. He had been anticipating anything today, but not this, definitely not this. He was prepared to wallow in his own company, watching silly Christmas movies on the small TV that sat ungracefully on the floor. But really, he didn’t mind being here as much as he said he did. It was shocking even to him, but he appreciated everyone’s efforts to include him, even Ouma’s, who was the one to come up with this idea in the first place. Not like he’d admit it.

And with that, the warm and an even more familial feeling of Christmas was in the Amami household once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> on the first day of christmas my true love gave to me : a rantarou in his gucci robe sitting seductively 
> 
> on a serious note -- i hope you liked this ya'll !! comments are always super duper UbER appreciated and i'll see you back on the serious chapters !!


	5. The Nurse's Office

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOF again , pretty late haha , but i hope the fact that i update these so rarely doesn't take any of you out who are still ,,, reading hhh ( itT'D BE NICE TO KNOW IF ANY OF YOU ARE STILL READING THIS OUT IN THE COMMENTS BUT IT'S OKAY , I'M JUST SLIGHTLY PARANOID SDJKGSD ) 
> 
> it's my first time in a bunch of years writing a multi-chapter thing like this , so i'm sorry if i'm awful at updates , feel free to hate me ww , but please enjoy this chapter !! wrote it while watching shrek the third uwu

_And on the other side_  
_the same exact regret was being felt._

***

Angie’s hand tightly held onto that of Kirumi’s. The more mature girl could definitely tell that the owner of the hand squeezing her own was definitely worried, just by the fidgety body language. But as nerve-stricken as Angie seemed to be, she was still smiling, spouting some nonsense about how Atua was going to take care of everything.

“So…what exactly happened that you had to drag me here?” Kirumi finally asked when her eyes landed on the sign that proudly stated she was now in front of the nurse’s office. “I don’t mean to come off rude, but-”

“It’s fine, Kirumi!” Angie still looked to be beaming, even now. “Kiyo came out of his little cave and joined us for lunch, you know! And Angie thought it was a blessing sent from Atua himself, but while Kiyo was chasing down Rantarou Amami, he just fell down!”

And Kirumi could’ve sworn she was more confused than before and a slight grimace welcomed itself on her face. The tale seemed completely unbelievable, the fact that Korekiyo would even go to the packed cafeteria sounded like a stretch all by itself, but then there was that added spice of him chasing _Rantarou, out of anyone._ In no world did Kirumi think this was even a thing that could happen. And how intense was it all supposed to be for Korekiyo to collapse? Gods, she was this close on telling Angie off for her delusions and leaving her to her own accord, but that whole train of thought got interrupted by the nurse’s office door creaking open, only for a young girl to emerge. Kirumi recognized her as the nurse’s helper, but she couldn’t recall her name…

“S- Shinguuji is okay, w- well, as okay as he could be in a state like this. I d- don’t know what happened, but I would advise for him to rest and- and e- eat something light. I w- was just on my way t- to the cafeteria…” She paused for a moment, trying helplessly to raise her gaze from the floor onto the girls who stood and listened intently as her fingers met her purple-tinted hair in a nervous manner. “D- Do either of you k- know what his l- last period w- was? A- And what the next will be, I s- should inform the teachers-”

“You really shouldn’t worry about that, he was absent in all of his classes today, so it’s not a problem now.” Kirumi answered blankly. “Can we go talk to him?”

“Y- Yes, I- I’ll be right back i- in case anything happens.” With that being said, the girl disappeared into the hallways, leaving the office door unguarded to any passersby that might’ve wanted to enter. And it might’ve not seemed like it at first, but it really did need guarding.

Angie was usually the first to run into any place, so it came to her extreme surprise when Kirumi rushed into the nurse’s office before she could, producing a small gust of wind with her quick steps that almost baffled Angie. How uncharacteristically…fierce of her. And before Angie could even step into the cozy room, she heard yelling, promptly making her steps even more quick.

“Are you insane? You disappear for weeks and the first thing I hear of you after all of that is this? I can’t tell if you’re acting out like this on purpose or what, but it’s becoming more annoying than concerning.” Kirumi proceeded to yell, hands on hips as Korekiyo just stared from the bed with an empty gaze. “I thought I was being a good friend, you know, but you never even cared for anything that I did for you!”

“So? You stopped eventually, it shouldn’t be a big deal now.” Korekiyo’s pupils moved away from Kirumi and to the window nearby. The rugged frames almost reminded him of his beloved classroom, making the experience of sitting here somewhat more bearable.

“Are you even hearing yourself right now?! At least look at me when you’re being an-”

Kirumi’s mouth snapped shut once she felt someone grab her arm from behind and firmly tug her backwards by a couple of steps. Her head snapped to the side, only to discover Angie was holding her down. Not like she was going to do anything here, it would be far too unprofessional. Though Angie’s expectations of Kirumi calming down were crushed, seeing as how she struggled.

“Kirumi, Atua demands you to calm down, he says that anger won’t get you anywhere!” Angie persisted, not relaxing her hold for even a second, hoping she won’t have to dig her nails into Kirumi’s arm too.

“Oh, what do you know? You didn’t even try!”

“Atua insisted Angie not to be bothersome!”

“You could’ve helped!”

“ _Y-Your_ help didn’t do anything!”

Both Angie’s and Kirumi’s eyes widened into saucers and Angie finally let go of Kirumi’s arm. The taller girl swiftly proceeded to turn and walk out of the nurse’s office without saying a single word. In her own rush she failed to notice Shuichi standing behind the door, lips pursed into a tight frown. He entered as soon as Kirumi was out of sight, placing a hand on Angie’s shoulder when he was close enough.

“A-Ah, Shu-chi!” Angie stuttered out, linking her hands together and forcing out a grin. “Atua was expecting you! Now we can pray for Korekiyo’s well-being.”

“R…Right.” Shuichi trailed. “Are you okay, Shinguuji? Did Tsumiki say anything?”

“Nothing of importance.” Korekiyo answered, pushing a strand of hair behind his ear. “She said she was going to the cafeteria to bring me…something to eat. Unfortunately, I am not hungry. If you may, Saihara, Yonaga, you can take whatever she wants to feed me and eat it.”

“I-If she’s bringing it to you, I think you should have it… She wouldn’t be going out of her way to do something like that if it wasn’t necessary.”

Korekiyo huffed, not saying anything else and continuing his mindless sightseeing. His hands absentmindedly gripped the white sheets covering his lower hand for no real reason. He thought it was all awfully too much for a nurse’s office. Besides, he had absolutely no reason to be in here, he only fainted for a moment. He could’ve just done with a cup of tea…

Fortunately for him, both Shuichi and Angie noticed his discomfort in the way his eyes squinted and in the way he fidgeted with the hems of the sheets that were in his hands. Shuichi moved first, saying something about how Rantarou was planning on visiting Korekiyo in here at some point. It slightly peaked Korekiyo’s interest for a second, but it all faded due to the scene that just happened still being in mind.

“Kiyo,” Angie started, a small smile on her face as she led Shuichi out with her gaze. “Angie just…you’ll be fine, right? Atua told me…”

“Yes. Don’t worry about me.” 

Angie stared at her friend for a second, before nodding and beginning to walk out. Near the door, she turned back to him again, only to see that he was still avoiding her gaze. Her own gaze dropped and finally, she walked out.

***

_You want to help,_  
_but you don’t want to interfere._  
_Helpless and useless, you embrace the fact that everything’s ruined._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so if you thought to yourself "what's even going on" while reading this , dw , guy , it's supposed to be like that ! it's definitely a bit more vague than what i'm used to writing , so i hope the dialogue was natural ( though i'm fairly sure it's natural that people don't bring up why they're arguing bc they know why themselves ) 
> 
> oof . 
> 
> anyways . hope ya'll still don't think i'm a complete failure at writing this weird high school mystery haha
> 
> PLEASE COMMENT AND LEAVE KUDOS !!! I LOVE YOU GUISE


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